Sliding barn doors have become popular fixtures inside the home. Previously relegated to actual barns, sliding barn doors possess many advantages over more traditional doors that swing on hinges. Some advantages of sliding barn doors include ease of operation and minimal space requirements in comparison to hinged doors. As they do not swing open, sliding barn doors can be more easily utilized in small home spaces, such as bathrooms, or as room separators in small houses. In comparison to other types of sliding doors such as pocket doors, barn doors include decreased construction and installation costs, as well as immense flexibility in size, dimensions, design, and functionality. Because they are generally mounted on one or more tracks outside door frames or openings, sliding barn doors do not necessarily have to match the parameters of a door frame and can be adapted to almost any space and function as space separators, foundations for hangings such as artwork or mirrors, or even serve purely decorative purposes on their own.
By their nature, many sliding barn doors are reclaimed or recycled portions of doors from actual barns. Their popularity, however, has encouraged the construction of sliding barn doors from scratch specifically for use in homes. While lacking the former's rustic charms, manufactured sliding barn doors are generally easier to standardize, or alternatively, customize, and mass-produce. However, the manufactured barn doors are expensive as they require a great deal of upfront labor and craftsmanship before they are sold to the homeowner. Additionally, they are large and thus take up a lot of valuable storefront real estate.
What is needed is an alternative sliding barn door option that is inexpensive to produce, simple to stock and sell, and even allows a homeowner to construct and mount it herself.